Random question

[MisterComplete]

Hey guys, I have a random question for the Chow nerds out there: why do some chow chows have a more squished face and lots of wrinkles, and others have more of a wolfish muzzle and no wrinkles? I've heard the latter called "open-faced" chows - what does that mean?

[Me & Tess]

What I understand is the open faced is more the old fashioned Chow. My Tess was open faced and large at 70 lbs with longer legs. As breeding into this age, the closed face was born. I now have a closed faced Chow. Lilly is smaller at 35 lbs & has shorter legs. There are more health concerns with the closed faced Chows, i.e. breathing and eyes. My Tess' right eye sometimes teared when she was stressed. Both types are pretty incredible. Wouldn't have another breed.

[Victory]

Open faced means just what you described; the chows that are in this catagory don't have the excessive wrinkles that some do, in fact they may not have any wrinkles around their muzzles, they will have the typical chow "scowl" caused by the line in the front of their foreheads and the additional fatty deposits just at the inside corners of their eyes. In the open faced chows neither of these two things are exaggerated. Open faced chows can also have entroprian, (rolling in of the eyelids) however, so don't believe it if someone says that they can't. A chows eyes are very almond shaped, so they can have entroprian, no matter if they are open or closed faced.

The open faced ones are more closely related to the original chow. Or maybe it's just that they were bred for health etc, and not the show ring, where some breeders went for the heavier headed, wrinkler faced, heavy bodied types for a while.